


Just Be Mine

by verawrites



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alpha!liam, Alpha!zayn, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, M/M, Omega!Niall, alpha!Harry, omega!Louis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-09
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-04 01:12:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1761505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verawrites/pseuds/verawrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For as long as he could remember, Louis had always had Harry and Liam by his side. There was never really a moment in his memory where the three of them were separated and together, what they had was unique.</p><p>But what happens when the two alpha brothers realise that they both have feelings for the younger omega that they had sworn to always love and protect?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sweet Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been a long time, but my fingers have just been itching to type and my brain’s been churning this out for a bit, so forgive me for any weirdness or errors.
> 
> Just a quick note that the first few chapters are the foundation to the story, so expect lots of cuteness and flashbacks of the characters growing up.

For as long as he could remember, Louis had always had Harry and Liam by his side.

There was never really a moment in his memory where the three of them were separated. Ever since he was young, he always remembered the two brothers protecting him and making sure that he was safe. It didn’t really help that he was younger than the both of them, and the fact that he had presented as an omega when he turned thirteen, and the other two had presented as alphas a few years before.

Louis had moved to Cheshire when he was just four, and had remembered playing about in the front yard while the movers were still moving all the house’s furniture and things into the house. His mother and father were carefully instructing them where each piece should go, discarding boxes for Louis to use for his imaginary yard fort with smiles on their faces.

Louis had been stacking the boxes and was trying to pile a small empty box on top of a three-box-tall tower when he accidentally slipped and fell into a messy pile of boxes. He remembered kicking out and accidentally landing funny when he fell, causing his elbow to pop and pain to take flood his system. Taking one look at how weirdly angled his arm was, Louis had promptly screamed, causing his parents to rush out to the yard and scramble to get him to the nearby hospital.

That was how he had spent his first day in Cheshire in the hospital.

—

**Four. Seven. Eight.**

The young boy had been put admitted to the hospital, and had been laying drowsily in the hospital bed after his elbow had been set when he had first met the two boys.

Louis’ parents had gone back home to help settle the house, leaving the young boy to fend for himself. There hadn’t really been much to worry about with the nurses that constantly kept popping in and cooing over his blue eyes and button nose. A lovely nurse called Anne had entered his room later that afternoon and had smiled down at Louis, gently brushing his forehead, as she spoke to him.

“Hello again dearie, how are you feeling?”

Smiling loopily from the pain medication, Louis replied. “I’m feeling okay, just a little lonely.”

“Lonely?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing to do and no one to play with. I haven’t made any friends yet..”

Nodding sympathetically, Anne patted Louis on his head.

“How about I see if I can get my sons to come down to play with you later? It’s Saturday, and I’m sure that they would love to make a new friend! Especially if it’s with someone as adorable as you!”

Nodding furiously for a few seconds, Louis grinned. “Yes please! But I’m not adorable!” Louis had huffed grumpily, never really liking it when people called him that. Anne laughed and ruffled his hair before leaving, promising to bring in her boys later.

Louis had been thrilled at the thought of having new friends on his first day in Cheshire, and had started humming under his breath, playing with his fingers as he awaited for his promised new friends to come in.

About an hour later, after Louis had been staring off into space, he heard the door knob jiggle and the door opened, a head of curls peaking around the door.

“Hello?”

Squeaking, Louis popped under the sheets for a moment, before peeping out, blue eyes meeting green as the boy came into his room, eyes bright and dimples showing.

“Are you Louis?”

Nodding shyly, Louis smiled, pointing his finger at the boy.

“You have holes in your face!”

The curly haired boy frowned, “They’re not holes! They’re dimples! You’re not very nice, are you?”

Gaping for a moment, Louis’ face promptly scrunched up and he started to wail, causing the other boy to start panicking.

“No- I- Do- don’t cry-“

“Harry, what’s going on? Did you make mum’s patient cry?”

Another boy with a nice gentle face came in, brown eyes darting around for a moment before landing on Louis’ wet face before stepping forward, hand reaching out and patting the younger boy on the head as he had seen his mum always do when Harry or him were upset.

“There there, why are you crying?”

“Tha- That boy said that I wasn’t very nice!”

“Harry?”

“But Lee-yum! He said that I had holes in my face!”

“He’s just a baby! He doesn’t know any better!”

Looking up, Louis pouted. “I’m not a baby! I am this many years old now!” Louis stuck up four fingers in the air, sticking his tongue out in concentration.

“You’re only four? Well, I’m eight! And Harry here is seven!” The slightly taller boy replied, chest puffed out proudly. Blinking slowly at the two, Louis sniffled as Anne came into the room.

“Honestly boys! What did I say about running in the hallways?”

“But mum! We only wanted to meet Louis faster! You were just too slow!”

Gasping, Liam pinched Harry. “You can’t say that! You’ll hurt mum’s feelings!”

“Ouch! So- sorry mum..”

Giggling at the trio, Louis smiled.

“Hi there! My name is Louis!”

—

**Eight. Eleven. Twelve.**

“Louis! Get your little butt back here!”

“Make me, Li Li!”

Louis laughed as he ran across the fields, urging his legs to run faster as he clutched Liam’s precious comic book in his hands.

“LOUIS!”

Liam growled as he leapt at Louis, grabbing his ankles as he landed flat on the ground, causing Louis to squeal as he was pulled down along with him. Scrambling about, Liam managed to trap the younger eight-year old beneath him just as Louis had successfully shoved his comic under his shirt.

“Gross! Louis, give it back!”

“Make me!”

“Lou..”

Louis ignored the warning tone in Liam’s voice and simply pulled a face at him as he crossed his arms over the comic, struggling not to laugh as he did. Rolling his eyes, Liam looked down at the boy beneath him before smirking.

“If you won’t give it to me.. Then maybe I’ll just tickle it out of you.”

Gasping, Louis shook his head. “You wouldn’t! You’re too nice!”

Liam sighed, faking defeat. “You’re right, Louis. I can’t do it.”

Grinning triumphantly for a moment, Louis wiggled a little before Liam’s face broke into a naughty smile.

“..but Harry can.”

The smaller boy’s eyes widened before a shadow cast over his face.

“Got ya, Boo Bear!”

“GAH! HAZ! YOU TRAITOR!”

Louis squirmed as Harry started to attack his sides, fingers curling around his waist as Louis gasped in laughter, squealing, “Mercy! Mercy!”

“I don’t know, Louis. You stole Liam’s comic, and you know how much he treasures his comic books, right Li?”

Nodding, Liam laughed. “This means you get double the punishment!”

Both brothers laughed as they tickled Louis mercilessly, both working together to bring the struggling boy to tears.

“I- I GIVE UP! I WON’T DO AGIN! PL- PLEASE STOP!”

The tickles stopped.

“You promise?” Liam asked.

“Okay, I promise!”

Satisfied, both brothers got off Louis, high fiving each other as Louis pulled the comic from under his shirt, face still red from the tickle attack. He handed it over to Liam, pouting. “You don’t play fair, Liam. You both always gang up on me!”

Liam shook his head, slinging an arm over the smaller boy’s shoulders. “Well, what can I say? We’re brothers!”

—-

**Nine. Twelve. Thirteen.**

“Mum, what’s wrong with Liam? Why can’t he come out to play with me? Why does Harry have to stay home with him?” Jay smiled, patting her son on the head.

They were at home on the sofa, watching Saturday morning cartoons together. “Well my dear, do you remember when I told you that when you get older, you’ll find out how fate will guide you to your true mate?” Louis just looked blankly at his mother, biting his lower lip as he frowned.

“..yes?”

“Liam is going through a phase right now, and this phase will bring him a step closer to know who he will be looking for! Remember that I told you that everyone is different and special? Like how mummy is a beta and daddy is also a beta?”

Nodding, Louis tried to look like he understood, though he was feeling confused on the inside. “Uh huh..?”

“Your friend Liam is going to find out if he is an alpha, beta or omega so that he will know who to look for when he is even older!”

Frowning, Louis shook his head. “But he has me and Harry! He doesn’t need any other mates! He has us!”

Chuckling at her son’s child-like innocence, Jay cuddled him. “You’ll understand someday, my boy. Someday..”

—-

Louis had spent his Saturday moping about the house after finishing his morning cartoon telly with his mum, having to squirm away from her endless cuddles, and was picking at the bits of lint in his sweater on his bed, bored out of his mind. It was rare for him to not spend his Saturday with the brothers, and he sorely missed them. He didn’t quite understand what his mother had tried to tell him. Wasn’t he and Harry good enough for Liam? Weren’t they best friends? Best mates?

Tears started to well up in his eyes at the sudden thought.

What if Liam didn’t want to be friends with him anymore after finding his “true mate”? What if Harry didn’t want to be friends with him after he found his too?

Louis was about to start crying a the very thought of being left behind by his friends when the phone rang. Gulping a little, Louis paused as he heard his mother pick up the phone before walking in his room.

“It’s for you, boo. It’s Harry.”

Scrambling from his bed, Louis grabbed the phone from his mother’s hand, not noticing the chuckle of amusement from her as he put the phone to his ear.

“Hazza?”

“Lou! Are you okay? You sound funny.”

Louis shook his for a bit, before remembering that Harry couldn’t see him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little cold.”

“Oh. I’m sorry I can’t be there to cuddle you and make you warm, boo.”

Louis smiled as he hopped back onto his bed, his mother leaving the room as she shook her head fondly.

“It’s ok, Haz. I know that Liam needs you. Why did you call? Is Li Li okay?”

Louis heard rustling from the other line as Harry moved around.

“Yeah, my brother’s fine. He’ just stuck in his room for a bit with a fever.. Anyways, I just kind of felt like I had to call you, like I thought that maybe you weren't okay..”

“Oh..”

“So boo, are you really okay?”

Louis shuffled on his bed, biting his lower lip as he thought about whether he should tell Harry the truth. He didn’t want to come across as a baby. The fact that he was a few years younger than both brothers had always been a little bit of a sensitive issue to him, and he honestly didn’t want to be babied or feel anymore like a baby than he already did.

“..yes?”

“Lou-bear, you know that you can tell me anything, right?”

It was then did the floodgates open, and Louis started to bawl. Harry started to shift around, trying his best to soothe the boy over the line with words of comfort. He hated it when Louis was upset. This went on for a few more moments before Louis started to choke out his feelings.

“Harry, you and Liam aren’t going to leave me once you find your true mates, right? I thought that we were mates! Bestest of mates and that you would never leave me!”

Harry struggled not to laugh at Louis as he said that, before answering quickly.

“Oh Louis, we’d never replace you! I promise! Even if we find our true mates! Boo, you do know that true mates are different from best mates, right?”

Hiccoughing, Louis sniffled. “They are?”

“Yeah! Best mates are like you, me and Liam! True mates are like.. Are like mummies and daddies! You know, when one person loves another-“

“Oh! Ew.. You mean the kind that love each other and kiss all the time?”

Harry laughed at Louis’ description, clutching the phone in his hand as he smiled at the younger boy’s innocence.

“Yeah, that kind of mate, so don’t worry okay? Even if Li Li and I find our true mates, we’d never leave you. It won’t be that easy to get rid of us, boo..”

—-

The next evening, Louis got a call from Harry telling him that Liam had turned out to be an alpha, and that he hoped that he would be one too someday.

“That means that I’ll grow up and be big and strong, and be able to protect you and your small self!”

That ended up with the pair squabbling over the phone for the rest of evening until their mothers had to pull them away from their phones, Liam sleeping blissfully away in his sleep having finally overcome his change.


	2. Unwanted Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million and one apologies would not be enough to cover up my guilt for this long overdue chapter.
> 
> Again, just a reminder that the first few chapters are of the characters growing up, which will map their growth and relationship with each other. But don't worry, because things will get interesting. I promise. (:
> 
>  **Edit:** I read through it again and corrected a few mistakes as well as added in an extra bit or two. Just thought you ought to know. ^^

**Fourteen. Seventeen. Eighteen.**

It’s been five years since Liam presented as an alpha, four since Harry did too, and so far the dynamics between the brothers and Louis had yet to change much. As Harry had foretold on the night that Liam had presented, he did indeed grow bigger and stronger, as did Liam. The brothers continued to hang out with the younger boy, never neglecting him despite their own school commitments and even their few relationships on the side.

Harry had been a magnet for omegas at school. With his shiny brown curls, emerald green eyes and dimpled cheeks, he constantly had an omega hanging off his arm. Harry never shied away from the attention. In fact, he basked in it whereas Liam remained content with sticking to an omega he had been seeing called Danielle.

When with the brothers, Louis often felt insecure about his age, always feeling that one day the boys might turn and realise that he was too immature in their eyes and seek out better friends. Whenever either Harry or Liam caught him in one of those moods, they would proceed to abandon whatever they were doing to try and cheer the smaller boy up.

Another thing that had Louis constantly on edge was the fact that he had yet to go through his change yet. Normally you would discover your role orientation at thirteen like clockwork, however he was now fourteen, with the year almost ending, and still he had yet to present.

It made him worry.

His mother constantly tried to reassure him, as did Liam and Harry, but nothing seemed to comfort the boy. The more days passed with him not going through the change, the more inadequate he felt. The brothers often tried to distract him with cuddles and more time spent together, but honestly, it just made Louis feel worse with the fact that he just felt that they were babying him, which the two were always quick to disprove.

Of course, Louis rarely showed this more vulnerable side to other people.

In school, Louis always shoved his insecurities away and showed off his more confident side. The teachers and students adored him from the get-go, and having the incredibly good looking alpha Styles brothers as best friends did wonders for his reputation in school. He was known as one of the more well-known and popular freshmen, and could easily enchant an audience of spectators with funny jokes and stories. It was no wonder that the drama club pulled him in to join them in his third week of school.

However, as there are people that liked Louis, there were also people that didn’t, and his detractors constantly liked to point out that he was still an “un-presented brat”. Louis always tried to brush them off, but on the not so good days, their words tended to stick to him like glue.

It felt like one of those days when Louis woke up one Thursday morning, the underside of his skin feeling itchy, eyes too dry and his stomach lurching. Quelling the feelings of nausea going through his system, Louis tamped them down and started to get ready for school. He had just one more day to the weekend, and he really didn’t want to miss lessons due to some random bug he caught from somewhere since his final semestral exams were coming up.

After brushing his teeth and changing his clothes, Louis made his way to the kitchen where he prepared a bowl of cereal for himself since his mother was dropping his sisters off for daycare and school. Spooning the flakes of cereal into his mouth, Louis felt as if he was eating soggy cardboard and gave up trying to stomach his breakfast when he heard the familiar honk of Harry’s car. Dumping the bowl in the sink to soak and grabbing his bag, he made his way out of the house and into Harry’s car, sliding into the passenger seat.

“Morning Lou!”

“Morning Harry..”

Blinking, Harry cocked his head to the side at Louis’ lacklustre greeting, noting how pale Louis looked.

“Are you okay? You look a bit peaky this morning.”

“I’m fine Haz, just feeling a little under the weather, is all.”

“Are you sure? Do you want me to bring you over to mine so my mum can take a look? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

Shaking his head, Louis smiled at Harry’s concern.

“No need to, I’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

Harry eyed the younger boy for a moment before revving his engine back up. “If you’re sure Lou, but if you start to feel really bad, promise to tell me? Or at least give Liam a call. You know that he has Thursdays off.”

Nodding at the older alpha, Louis smiled, ignoring the continuous churning in his stomach.

It was the period before lunch, and Louis wasn’t feeling any better. He had hoped that it was just a quick morning bug but as the minutes ticked by, he just started to feel even worse than before. He had started getting weird looks as he made his way to his various classes, and he wasn’t quite sure why.

As the bell rang, signalling the end of the period, Louis shoved his belongings into his bag and slowly trudged his way out of his classroom, smiling at his classmates when they asked if he was alright.

He didn’t like to come across as weak.

As he kept his books in his locker and pulled out the ones he would need for his next few classes, he felt his head start to spin and his vision start to blur a little as suddenly everything seemed too loud and strong around him. Gasping, Louis bit down on his lower lip as he started to collapse amidst the moving crowds.

“Louis!”

Feeling numb, Louis barely registered his name being shouted as he fell to the ground, losing consciousness.

—

“He’s not coming to Liam!”

“Give him time Haz, he just needs to recuperate.”

Louis scrunched up his nose, his body feeling sore as he felt heavy sheets around him, the corner of his lip twitching as he heard deep familiar voices sounding him from afar.

“But Li, it’s been almost two days! What if- what if he-“

“Harry, calm down! Louis will be fine. Like mum said, his body is probably exhausted from going through the change.”

“Then why do you look so worried?”

“I’m not worried! I’m just.. Fine, I’m worried too, okay? What do you want me to say?”

Liam and Harry..? Worried?

Groaning, Louis tried to roll over on his side, his senses still fuzzy as he heard gasps and a door slamming open.

“Louis!”

Sitting up as best as he could, Louis smiled weakly.

“Hey guys, what’s up?”

Rushing forward, both brothers grabbed onto Louis, ignoring his half-hearted protests at being cuddled. When he tried to extract himself from the two, the alphas just held on tighter, refusing to let go, something inside them whispering that they never should.

“Guys?”

Letting go of the younger boy, Harry gave Louis a half-hearted smack on the shoulder, ignoring Liam’s protests.

“You gave us a right scare! How could you possibly have thought that it was a good idea to go to school when you were going through your change?”

Louis blinked as he looked from Harry to Liam.

“What?”

Shaking his head, Liam cupped his cheeks. “Lou, you went through your change. You’ve presented. You’re an omega.”

Louis? An omega? That had to be a mistake, right? Chuckling uneasily, Louis patted Liam on the shoulder. “Good one Li, and here I thought that you would never be able to tell a good joke.”

Frowning, Liam shook his head.

“I’m not kidding, Louis. Why would I?”

Louis froze, looking to Harry for any sign of Liam pulling a fast one on him, but was only met with concern.

“Louis?”

Shaking his head frantically, Louis started to push away from both alphas, face a mask of horror as he started to panic.

“No no no, this is all wrong! It has to be a mistake! I- I’m supposed to be a beta, not a bloody omega!”

“Lou-“

Batting away Liam’s hands when the alpha tried to console him, Louis felt tears start to well up.

“I’m not an omega! I- I can’t be one. It’s impossible for me to be an omega! I’m not weak! Both my parents- Neither of them are omegas! They’re both betas! This is just a dream.. It has to be!”

Liam’s eyes widened as Louis carried on babbling to himself, tearing himself up over something he had no control over.

“Louis.. You’re not dreaming. You’re an omega.”

As if startled, Louis looked up at Liam and for once, Liam didn’t know how to comfort him with words. Instead, all he could do was pull the smaller boy into his arms and hold him as he cried, his brother curling around the both of them as both alphas sought to comfort the newly presented omega.

“Louis..”

Both brothers held onto Louis as he continued sobbing until the stress of his unwanted change and exhaustion took over, unconsciousness creeping onto him once more as he slumped into their arms.

Wiping the drying tear tracks on Louis’ cheeks, Harry looked up from the frail looking omega to Liam, his brother’s face mimicking his own.

Why would their Louis ever think that he was weak?

Harry was about to voice his thoughts when Liam shook his head, looking pointedly at the sleeping boy, and Harry sighed, nodding.

They would come to that later. For now, they just pulled the younger boy closer, their instincts instantly urging them to keep the omega caged protectively between the two of them, safe from any harm.

—

The bedroom door creaked open and Louis’ mother peeped into the room.

“Boo bear?”

Her eyes slowly fell to the three boys on the bed and she smiled, noting how protective the brothers’ stance was around her son.

Since the day the three of them had met, she knew that there would be a special bond between them with the way that they interacted with each, and she always felt that her son was truly blessed to have such wonderful friends to care for him, and vice versa.

She just hoped that this peace would never be disturbed.

Silently pulling out of the room, she shut the door with a click as she padded back to her own room.

—

Hours later, Louis awoke once more, this time to both brothers curled up warmly around him. Liam’s chest was pressed to his back, his arms wrapped around his middle and Louis’ face buried in the curve of Harry’s shoulder. Sighing, Louis buried deeper into Harry’s embrace, starting a little when he felt fingers threading through his hair. Looking up, his blue eyes met green as Harry smiled down sleepily at him.

“Hey there sleepy bear.”

Smiling back weakly, Louis croaked back. “Hey there Hazza bear.”

Chuckling, Harry smiled at Louis for a bit before his face settled into a more serious expression as the fingers in Louis’ hair stilled.

“Louis, you are not weak. What makes you think that you are?”

Sighing, Louis looked down, faintly noting that Harry was shirtless, though that wasn’t much of a surprise seeing as the alpha tended to sleep in the nude regardless of his company.

“Do we have to talk about this now?”

“If we don’t, you’ll find some way to put this off until it’s too late. I know you.”

Biting his lower lip, Louis trembled, giving up.

“I’ve always been small, Harry, and somehow, I’ve always felt so helpless because of it. I don’t like being like this. I thought that maybe it was just a phase, that once I presented, I would finally become bigger and stronger, like how you and Liam did. Then I wouldn’t have to always hide behind the both of you. But then I presented wrong! I- I end up being what I always dreaded to become and now I’ll always be small! Always helpless, always so, so weak!”

Harry was speechless for a moment, absorbing whatever Louis had just said as the omega fought back his tears once more. Louis? Weak and helpless? Louis thinking that he wasn’t strong and that he had to hide behind them? Shaking his head, Harry cupped Louis’ cheeks, forcing him to look up at him.

“Louis, you are the furthest thing from being weak and helpless! You are so much stronger than me or Liam! How could you ever doubt yourself? You being an omega doesn’t change who you are. You’re still Louis. Strong, independent and always so wonderful.”

Ignoring Louis’ soft protests, Harry pressed his lips to the younger boy’s forehead, silencing him. Pulling away, Harry smiled down at Louis, stroking his face.

“Don’t ever change who you are, Lou. It’d be impossible to ever find someone like you.”

Blinking, Louis squeaked in surprise when he felt the arms around his waist tightening.

“Yeah, boo bear. I’m pretty sure we’d have to clone you if we wanted to be able to even get back a fraction of you, and even then, it wouldn’t be the same.”

Laughing as he felt Liam nuzzle into him and Harry wrapping his own arms around him, for the first time in a very long while, Louis felt like he really belonged. Like he was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering, the chapters have actually already been mapped out. It's just that I got stuck half way through the chapter and instead of re-writing it, I decided to split it into two so that the timelines and character development won't get messed up.
> 
> The next chapter's going to have some revelations on a certain alpha's feelings, so I hope you'll still stick around.

**Author's Note:**

> Subsequent pairings will be revealed as the story progresses. (:
> 
> ~ [Just Be Mine](http://worded-imagination.tumblr.com/justbemine)


End file.
